Matthew The Oxx

I am the son of a composer, then in both my immediate and extended family are many more musicians. Some are professional, some teach, some are hobbyists and some specialise in their chosen instrument. Where I differ from most is that I’m a songwriter, dedicated to the craft of linking the poetry I write to music.

I also have a wanderlust and have often found myself wandering from shore to shore, in search of what I’m not yet sure. A way back, after years of open mics, a punk band and gigging the UK’s toilet circuit mercilessly; I gave up music entirely for a while and immersed myself in a new life in Australia planting trees and wwoofing.

After four years away from music entirely I felt a call to record again and made the album ‘elephant’, with this album I finally began to form a voice that gave me the right kind of confidence. It was the first concept album I’d made and as such the beginning of an ongoing series.

I’m now preparing to release an album called ‘First Aid for the Drowning’ on the label Wild Sound Recordings. It’s title is inspired by the Balzac novel ‘La Peau de Chagrin’ and it’s focus is on transformation, and death, or both. Some of the work is fictionalised and some is from the angles I’ve been able to understand so far; either through direct experience or via the art of those who’ve been through what they have.